Sri Rama Rajyam 

 

Star Cast : Balakrishna, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Srikanth, Nayantara, Balayya, Murali Mohan, Brahmanandam, Raghunatha Reddy, Subbaraya Sharma, Vindu Dharasingh, KR Vijaya, Jayasudha, Sudha, Sana and Jhansi

Banner : Sri Saibaba Movies

DVD Features: NTSC All Regions

Music : Ilayaraja

Director : Bapu

Producer : Yalamanchili Saibabu

 

If you thought Sri Rama Rajyam is a Balakrishna film, think again.  For, Bapu here chooses to follow his own dharma of story-telling and keeps Sri Rama (played by Balakrishna) from the screen for good measure.  In fact, in first half, the hero goes missing for a good 35 minutes (only making a brief appearance in between).  Never mind, the first half-an-hour for which he talks, smiles, romances, sobs, and expresses his anguish he looks every bit an actor of whom the Telugus can be proud of.

 

 Balakrishna displays his versatile acting prowess and the very many touching moments that come in between many more short numbers keep you hooked.  In short, be prepared to enjoy the drama of adversities, the leisurely pace of the film and its tragic mood.

 

Bapu succeeds to the extent that he is honest to the script and makes a brave attempt at reinterpreting a known story - the story of Sita's expulsion from the kingdom, the travails of Sita and Rama, the role of Kusha and Lava in bringing the story to a climactic end .  The marvellous maker that he is, he makes SRR look like an endearing human drama, in spite of the fact that the marathon mythological is embellished with esoteric concepts like dharma (raja dharma), karma (prarabdha), et al.  The film pans out like a watchable saga of Maryadapurushottama's human suffering to which us Indians can easily connect.

 

The film begins with the return of Rama and Sita to Ayodhya after 14 years of banishment.  In just five minutes, you are engaged by the proceedings.  As Balakrishna vows his adherence to his loyalty to the people, you are reminded of NTR.  It is because Balayya brings a certain grace to his character.  Human god Rama can be seen through Bapu's eyes and Balakrishna in crystal clear terms.  When he romances Nayan, you see a different Balakrishna altogether. 

 

Gaandham

 

Star Cast: Tej, Rachana , Pandiyarajan

Director: V M Shravanan

Producer: Sanjayganesh

Music Director: Pratap Vidyasagar

 

 

The movie is about Gautam (Tej) is a fun-loving youngster. One fine day, he comes across Nisha (Rashmi). He tries to woo her and loses his heart to her. Its romance in the air straightaway. However the latter is against his proposal. Now with no options left, Gautam trakes the help of his brother-in-law Rajesh (Pandiarajan), who coaches the football team where Nisha is the key player.